Monday Moments: Honor the Source

Wow what a week and weekend.
This weekend was quite some fun! I am excited about sharing some of our experiences with you this week. I hope you enjoy this week’s Monday Moments.

Daddy-Daughter Time
So you can tell the ladies of the church are having an event when all the dads are on daddy day care duty. We have quite a few newer dads in our congregation so it is always interesting to hear the experiences. One of my major moments was taking out Chloe’s braids, and combing out her hair. As I finished it, I looked on facebook and saw that Pastor AJ and Aylinne (his daughter) had the same fun time. Hope you enjoy our pictures! These are memorable and very rewarding times!

College Football: Double Dip
Now I love football, and I love going to games. As the weather changes, and gets a little cold, I have found one of the best seats to watch a game is my couch, lol. However, this past Saturday I was afforded an opportunity to go to the JMU game and watch from a VIP level. A friend of a friend actually is a season ticket holder and has his own suite which means you have a private place you can watch the game both inside and outside. This level seating comes with buffet style food that you can eat throughout the entire game. Let me just say Cherelle and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and it was an awesome experience. It changed how I “viewed” JMU football at large. Special shout out to Chris Jones and his friend Craig for inviting us to the game.
In addition to that, JMU were celebrating pass champions that came through their program so we had a chance to celebrate some people that are pretty close to us. Special shout out to Isaiah Dottin-Carter, 2004 National Champion and current member of Divine Unity Community Church :). Arthur Moats current Pittsburg Steeler linebacker was at the game. He and I have developed a pretty close relationship over the past 5 years. Yes I am a pastor and a fan of these guys!

UVA- Me and a few guys from the church went to the UVA vs Miami game Saturday evening. Special shout out to my boy Marcel who invited me to the game. It was great fellowship, and going to two different games on one day for free was amazing and it gave me a lot of energy.

Honor the Source
This past Sunday may have been one of my most exciting sermons because of how much I learned and what the Lord revealed to me as I studied and preached it. We were in Genesis 14 this week talking about the origin of “tithing” and the mysterious yet revelatory character of Melchizedek who Abram paid tithes to after battle. The writer of Hebrews parallels Melchizedek as a foreshadowing to Christ as both our King & High Priest (read Hebrews 7 for more background). As we continued in our series of Thanks BY Giving Abraham models just that in Genesis 14. He didn’t pay tithes to get rich, or to fulfill a law. Abram paid tithes out of a place of reverence and thanksgiving for who God is and all He has done. So often the subject of paying tithes (10% of all increase) is very sensitive and misunderstood, but Abram paying tithes taught us that our living, giving, and worshipping should reveal, recognize, and remind us that God is our Source!

It is my hope that we, those that attend DUCC and beyond our 4 walls, will set a pattern of reverence through our financial stewardship and giving to the Lord via tithes and offering to the church. Remember we have because He gave, and we give because we have. Join with me in this season to live unselfishly and be a blessing to your church and those that are around. Our living, giving, and worshipping will reveal, recognize, and remind us that God is our Source!
Understand when we honor God as our Source, He will indeed open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings that we will not have room to receive. This past weekend was another reminder for me. Literally I was able to be places and do things that go beyond my bank account. Some may call it luck or networking, but I say it is the favor of the Lord.